Ratings winning franchise moves from History channel and will explore the aftermath of Jesus' death

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This publicity image released by History shows Diogo Morcaldo as Jesus, center, being baptized by Daniel Percival, as John, in a scene from "The Bible."

Updated at 4:06 PM EST on Monday, Jul 1, 2013

The sequel to the History Channel's wildly-popular series "The Bible," is coming to NBC, the network announced Monday.

History enjoyed huge ratings when it began airing the 10-part mini-series in March, with the Easter Sunday finale drawing 11.7 million viewers.

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Tentatively titled "A.D.: Beyond the Bible," the follow-up will once again be produced by "The Voice" executive producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey.

"I followed the development process of 'The Bible' closely with (executive producer) Mark (Burnett) and knew that the story was far from over after Christ's crucifixion," Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "In fact, what happened in the aftermath -- which is essentially the beginning of Christianity -- is utterly fascinating. The day after 'The Bible' premiered, I told Mark we were on board with no hesitation for the follow-up miniseries."

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"Our new series, 'A.D.: Beyond the Bible,' is another massive project and a major commitment, but it's a story that has to be told," Burnett and Downey said in a statement. "It's a story that changed the world. We look forward to making this an enormous television event on NBC."

According to NBC, "Beyond the Bible" will kick off "in the dark days after Jesus' betrayal and death," and will follow his disciples as they stand "against the combined might of Rome and their own local authorities."